The Light of Awareness: The Ancient Art of Zen Meditation and the 21st-Century Work of Byron Katie

The Vineyard Haven Public Library is pleased to welcome Jonathan Herrick, LCSW, for a two-hour meditation workshop combining two powerful, pragmatic approaches that can reduce personal suffering and increase the capacity for happiness and love. This program will be held on Saturday, June 27th, from 10:00am-12:00pm at the Katharine Cornell Theatre, located at 51 Spring Street in Vineyard Haven (above Tisbury Town Hall). Free and open to the public. Click here to register. 

The focus of the workshop is on the nature of awareness and on providing participants with practical skills that can benefit their lives. Herrick will introduce four primary Zen meditation practices, walk participants through Byron Katie’s four-step “CBT on steroids,” and demonstrate the similarities, differences, and strengths of each practice. Ample time is included for questions and answers.

Jonathan Herrick has been in private psychotherapy practice for over 40 years as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. After receiving his master’s degree from New York University, he trained extensively with some of the world’s foremost mentors and institutes, including a decade with Byron Katie, who asked him to write about her work's relationship to Zen Buddhism. Herrick also trained with leading Zen, Tibetan Buddhist, and Advaita Vedanta masters including Philip Kaplea, H.W.L. Poonja, Ramesh Balsekar, Jean Klein, and Anam Thubten. He has practiced and led workshops on the Psychology of Self in Westport, Park Slope, San Francisco, and now on Martha’s Vineyard.

For more information, please contact the library at vhpl_programs@clamsnet.org or (508) 696-4211.

Daniel Goleman: Altered Traits

On Monday, July 24th at 7pm, Vineyard Haven Public Library will host a free talk by Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., the bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence, Focus, and A Force for Good (written with the Dalai Lama). Dr. Goleman will discuss his forthcoming book, Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Transforms Mind, Body, and Brain. A reception will follow the talk. The library will close at 5:30pm Monday and reopen at 6:30pm for this event only.

This program is being offered as part of the library's "Pushing the Limits" series, exploring ways that scientific ideas intersect with everyday life. Other programs in the series include a reading, viewing and discussion group held on Monday afternoons, and a variety of lectures by prominent scientists. Please visit the library website for a full schedule of events.

Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., an internationally recognized psychologist known for his bestselling books on emotional intelligence, has a long-standing interest in meditation dating back to his two years in India as a graduate student at Harvard. A psychologist who for many years reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times, Dr. Goleman has received many journalistic awards for his writing, including two nominations for the Pulitzer Prize for his articles in the Times, and a Career Achievement award for journalism from the American Psychological Association. Dr. Goleman's newest book, Altered Traits, unveils cutting-edge research that shows us the truth about what meditation can really do for us, as well as exactly how to get the most out of it.

"Pushing the Limits" is a nationwide program funded through the National Science Foundation and created through a collaboration of Dartmouth College, The Califa Library Group, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, Dawson Media Group, and the Institute for Learning Innovation.